Hakuhodo starts China name service

[Tokyo] Japanese ad agency Hakuhodo is starting a Chinese brand naming service to help Japanese and other clients entering the Chinese market. The program, called Hakuho-Somei, offers integrated branding services, including tests to evaluate Chinese-language brand and product names, tools to develop names and logos that make an impact on the Chinese market and also support for advertising and sales promotion in China. Since the scripts of the Chinese and Japanese languages are both based on characters developed originally in China, many Japanese companies import their Japanese monikers into China without changes, unaware they can give the wrong impression or cause offense.